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Where to buy gems

The best country to buy gemstones from is probably Africa. While the cost of gemstones from traditional sources, such as Burma, is now astonomical, it is possible to buy high quality gemstones from Africa at a reasonable price.

The main gemstone producing countries are in southern and eastern Africa, stretching from Namibia in the southwest through Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania to Kenya in eastern Africa. Madagascar, the large island off the coast of Mozambique, is geologically part of this same gemstone-rich area, known as the Neoproterozoic Mozambique Belt.

The most important producers recently have been Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar. Madagascar is famous for recent discoveries of ruby and sapphire, though a number of other gemstones have been found, including tourmaline, aquamarine, chrysoberyl, andalusite, apatite, citrine, iolite and kyanite. Tanzania has enormous potential and gemstone mining there already employs more than a half of million small-scale miners throughout the country.

Mozambique is producing excellent tourmaline in a wide range of colors, and we have also bought fine spessartite and red garnets in impressive sizes. Mozambique has recently become famous for its high quality paraiba tourmaline, and most of the world supply of paraiba is now coming from Mozambique since the Brazilian supply is so limited.

Nigeria, the large west African nation, is the one important gemstone producer not in the Mozambique Belt. Nigeria has produced respectable blue sapphire as well as large quantities of fine tourmaline. Nigeria is also known for pyrope and almandine garnet, aquamarine and topaz.

The best way to buy gems is to find one or more reliable suppliers and buy soley from them. Initially check out the supplier and then buy a small quantity of low value stones. If he/she is trustworthy then build a long term business relationship with this person.

Now is a great time to buy gems as many wealthy people are being forced to liquidate their assets. It is probably best to wait until later in the year when we expect prices to come down further.

Different kinds of Gems

The quality of the gem also determines whether it is considered precious or semi-precious. There are gemstones, such as garnets and tourmalines, that are more beautiful, rare, durable, and costly than the 'precious' gems. A small, fine quality deep green garnet called tsavorite would be more costly than a low-quality emerald; a brilliant red spinel more costly than a low or medium quality ruby. And a rare, brilliant, “neon” tourmaline from Paraiba, Brazil, will cost as much or more than a rare Burma sapphire.

There is no precise defintion of what a 'gemstone' is. It is defined largely by the rarity and value of the stone. Some well known semi-precious gemstones are:

Remember your 4C's when you buy gemstones - COLOR, CARAT, CLARITY, and CUTTING.

Color is all important in colored gems. The "best color" is complex, being a combination of hue, saturation and tone. Don't assume that the darker the color, the better the stone. That isn't true: color can be too dark, like some rubys that look more brownish or orangish red than blood red. The more bright and vivid the color, the better. In precise grading terms: clear, medium-tone, intense and saturated primary colors are the most preferred. Muted colors and colors between hues, which you might find very attractive, are usually less expensive. Look at the color in different kinds of light.

Clarity is the color and 'clearness' of the gem. Hold it up to the light. Can you see lots of black specks (inclusions). Clear transparent gemstones with no visible flaws are the most valued. There is no standardized grading system for clarity: it varies by gem variety. With colored gemstones, if the inclusion doesn't show in the face up position, it generally doesn't matter at all. (unlike diamonds which are graded upside-down at 10x magnification). Some varieties, notably emerald and red tourmaline, are very rare without inclusions of some kind so the price structure takes this into account. Pastel colored gemstones show inclusions more, so they generally detract more from the value for pale stones. In rare cases, inclusions can increase value. Special effects like the star in star sapphire and the eye in cat's-eye chrysoberyl are caused by inclusions. Inclusions can also be a birthmark, proving that a gemstone is from a particular place. So "horse-tail" inclusions in demantoid garnet make it more valuable because they prove it came from Russia.

Carat is the weight of the stone. Gemstones are sold by weight, not by size. Prices are calculated per carat. A carat is one-fifth of a gram. Some gems are denser than others so the same weight stone may be a different size! For example a one-carat emerald is a bigger than a one-carat ruby. Just like diamonds, the carat weight also affects the price: large gemstones are more rare, so the price per carat is higher. But practically, this doesn't make much of a difference with common gems like amethyst, citrine and blue topaz. It really kicks in for ruby, emerald, sapphire, alexandrite, tsavorite and demantoid garnet, Paraiba and rubellite tourmaline, spinel, and pink topaz. Anything above 100 carats is classed as a collector's stone. Far too big to be mounted in a necklace or ring, it's a stone that you keep wrapped up in cotton wool, and get out on special occasions.

Finally, the cutting. Are all the facets of the stone equal and well-cut, giving the gem life and sparkle. A gemstone with a good cut is something that may not cost more but can have a positive or negative effect on it's beauty. A well-cut faceted gemstone reflects the light back evenly across its surface area when held face up. If the stone is too deep and narrow, areas will be dark (aka extinction). If it is too shallow and wide, parts of the stone will be washed out and lifeless (aka window). The best way to judge cut is to look at similar gemstones next to each other. Dark areas in the stone are caused by light leaking out the back of the stones because the angles aren't right. Look for a stone having even brilliance. But the cut affects the pattern of light you will see.

Buying gemstones in Thailand

Buying gem stones is more complex than buying gold. Each stone is different and it is difficult to assess the value. What is a stone worth? It is worth what someone is willing to pay for it and there is no easy way to find that out other than trying to sell it. It is unlikely that you will find any bargains.

According to traditional Thai beliefs it is lucky to wear certain gemstones according to the day on which you were born. Your date of birth: You were born on a Your lucky gemstone is Your lucky color is

Bangkok has developed as a world center for the gemstone trade for 2 reasons. Firstly the Thais are brilliant when it comes to cutting the stones from the rough rock. They know how to cut the rough so that the stone has maximum sparkle and beauty. Although India and parts of South America also have large gemstone industries, their artisans are way behind the Thais when it comes to producing a quality stone. The skill of the Thais may be connected to their apprenticeship system. Cutters start working in the factory at the age of about 15. They live in the factory helping to clean it and learning their craft initially by polishing stones. Older cutters teach the boys the secrets of the business.

Secondly Thailand is one of the world leaders in the heat treatment of gem stones. Most ruby and sapphire are heat treated. Monghsu is heated to remove the characteristic blue core.This is an extraordinarily expensive art to learn, and the secrets are generally kept within the family sometimes to a single member. To understand why it is so expensive imagine you are treating a stone worth say $100,000 and you get the temperature wrong: you have rendered the stone worthless.

Diamonds

"Goodness what beautiful diamonds!" "Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie" - Mae West

Diamonds are the easiest gemstone to value as the price is largely set by the de Beers cartel. This site will give you the values. Looking at auctions is another way of checking the price. As with all gemstones be sure the stone has a certificate from a respected laboratory. The best are in Switzerland, but the US also has done good labs. You should be aware the some certificates are fake.

The seven major diamond mining countries of the world: Botswana, Russia, South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Australia, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Artificial diamonds

Scientists have been making artificial diamonds in labs since the 1950s which are chemically identicle to mined diamonds. These have been mainly very small diamonds used for making drill bits and other industrial purposes but now it is becoming possible to make larger diamonds that could be used for jewelry.

Rubies

The use of heating techniques was introduced to improve the color of rubies in the 1970s because of increasing demand for the stones and decreasing supply.

COLOR: think... fire engine red, not burgundy. Pure red, not purplish red.The most valued ruby is pigeon's blood red.

For ORIGIN , Mogok (Burma) is king. Monghsu (Burma) is generally considered inferior to Mogok but some material is quite good. Although you won't find many bargains, buying rubies in Burma is an interesting experience. Bangkok used to be the place to buy Burmese rubies, as it was only possible to enter Burma on a 24 hour visa, but over the last 10 years Burma has opened up hugely and its easier now to go straight to Rangoon. As a rule of thumb dealers in Burma will usually start asking 50-100% times the price they expect to get. You should be aware that many African rubies are passed off as Burmese.

In Thailand rubies are found in Pong Nam Ron, Bo Rai and Khao Saming in Chanthaburi and Nam Yuen in Ubon Ratchathani. The red rubies discovered in Chanthaburi are known as "Tab Tim Siam" or "Siamese Rubies" and are admired for their dazzling red.

Aside from their color, rubies are also known for their strength (9 on Moh's hardness scale), which makes them an easy stone to care for.

The Thai word for ruby is thap (high tone) thim (mid tone). ma(H) nee(M) daaeng is a red ruby.

Traditionally rubies were used for engagement rings. Red is fire, blood – passion. Women do not paint their lips green, nor do men send their love blue valentines. .It was the highly successful advertising campaign by de Beers in the mid 20th century that convinced the world that 'a diamond is forever'.

Synthetic rubies are used in lasers

Blue sapphire should be pure blue without any green or gray, neither too dark or black. The best color for yellow sapphire is dark yellow or golden yellow.

ORIGIN: Sri Lanka is probably the best place.

Sapphires have been discovered in Kanchanaburi, Chanthaburi, Si Saket, Ubon Ratchathani, Phrae, Phetchabun and Sukhothai.

The Thai word for sapphire is nin (mid tone). leuuang sai soht boot raa kham is a yellow saphire. see maawk maehk nin gaan is a blue sapphire.

Where to buy gems

Semi Precious Stones

Songwad Road, in Samphantawong, sometimes called Wat Koh, near Chinatown is a good place to buy these stones cheaply.

Precious stones

The Jewelry Trade Center is a good starting place. It is the largest centre for selling, sourcing and distributing jewelry in Bangkok and one of the largest such centres in Asia. The building houses an International Gem and Diamond Bourse (one of the largest in Asia) with a fully computerised trading area that provide 'real-time' information of the gems inventory. There is also a fully equiped gem testing labouratory operated by the Asian Instituted of Gemological Sciences (AIGS). It is located at 919/1 Silom Road and is the fourth tallest building in Bangkok so you shouldn't miss it. You can buy and sell gems online at the Silom Galleria which is located on the 6th Floor.

The whole area at the bottom end of Silom near the river around and in the Jewelry Trade Center and Mahaesak Road, between Silom and Suriwong in Bangrak,are good places to find legitimate gem shops. There are more than 1000 companies dealing with gems and jewelry. It should be noted that although these shops will not rip you off in terms of selling you the wrong product, but they will try to sell you gems at a price many times higher than they are actually worth so be careful.

For retail jewelers go to Old Siam Plaza. Try to establish a good relationship with a jeweler and then do all your shopping at same shop.

Beauty Gems and Premier Gems are probably Thailand's biggest gem dealers.

Bidz.com as a useful site for checking prices.

Avoid all market stalls everywhere in tourist areas.

Beads

The best place in Bangkok for turquoise or other similar beads is probably Chatuchak weekend Market (Mo Chit skytrain station). However many of them are plastic so you have to be careful. Nepal, India or China are probably the best places for turquoise. Chiang Mai may be a better bet than Bangkok.

Studying gemology in Bangkok

Bangkok, the colored stone capital of the world, is one of the most prestigious and practical place in the world to learn about gemstones. There are 3 main places to study gemology.:

• The Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand located at the Faculty of Science at Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road. A lot of Thai students study here.
  
  
  Will graduating from one of the institutes be enough to make you into a gem trader? Probably not. The gem business is largely based on long standing relationships between buyers and sellers and it takes time and money to develop contacts. The gem business in Thailand is dominated by Chinese family run firms and knowledge and contacts are passed down from one generation to the next. Having a diploma from a prestigious institute won't be enough to let you break in.
  

Avoiding scams and fakes

The gem scam usually takes the form of a friendly stranger striking up a conversation with you and luring you to a gem shop which is offering a 'one day only' sale or something similar. They will sometimes claim to be from the Tourism Authority of Thailand or some government department. Be aware that:

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